Exclusive Interview with Emilia Clarke – #HanSoloEvent

photo credit: Lucasfilm

Imagine growing up with a brother who loves Star Wars, and highly encourages you to dress up with him during play time. Now imagine growing up to star in one of those iconic Star Wars movies, and being able to geek out with your brother who’s loved the franchise since the beginning. This is what Emilia Clarke is currently experiencing as a new member of the Star Wars universe. Read on to get the scoop from our interview with Emilia Clarke.

photo credit: Momstart.com

Becoming A Star Wars Fan

Emilia plays Qi’Ra in SOLO: A Star Wars Story, a new mysterious character with an interesting connection to Han. When asked when became a fan of the Star Wars franchise, she shared that her brother was the fan first. But, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is when she finally fell in love.

“I became a fan because I suddenly realized what everyone must have felt in 1977 when (Star Wars) first came out.

This is what (movies) should look like, this is a blockbuster. As soon as that happened I was like, ‘I need to be a part of this. This is how it’s done. This is how everybody should make a movie.’ “

Qi’Ra Is A Survivor

While I won’t dare ruin SOLO: A Star Wars Story for you, I will say the character of Qi’Ra is going to make you think. When asked what Emilia thought she and Qi’Ra had in common, she spoke of survival.

“I think that Qi’ra is definitely a survivor. She does what she needs to do to keep being around. I think it’s fun because what you get to see with her is you see her and Han from the very beginning, from kids. She’s lived a huge amount in the short time that we don’t see her. And I had to grow up really quickly.”

photo credit: Momstart.com

Women Are Strong. Period.

Emilia is widely known for playing empowering female characters, and playing Qi’Ra was no different. When it was time to develop this important character, she made sure she had her say.

“There was a lot of discussions that I had with the creators of the movie to just kind of make sure that there were certain things in place that I felt were important for her and for the Star Wars franchise to have a girl that you know was strong.”

photo credit: Lucasfilm

But, she also mentions something profound. We need to take the “strong” from in front of women, because it’s already implied. If you are a woman, you’re already strong. It’s part of who we are.

“I get ‘do you play a lot of strong women’ questions a lot, and what I would love is we’re just women. You can take strong out of the equation, do you know what I mean?

It’s just what we are, strength is within us as women. It’d be wonderful if the young girls who are watching me play these characters now see that as a part of being a woman.As opposed to it being a choice of, ‘Oh I’m going to be a strong woman, or I’m not going to be a strong woman.’ You are, we all are. You have it in you anyway, so just go get it.”

Just go get it. YES. Talking with Emilia was so lovely, and you could feel her dedication to this role, and experience the excitement she felt from being part of SOLO: A Star Wars Story.